I've heard maybe one or two Sabaton songs before in my whole life, so this is the first Sabaton album I've heard in full. My main gripe with this album (probably the only one I have with it really), is that all of the songs are so short. Some of the songs aren't hurt by this, and sound perfectly fine as they are. But some songs definitely would have benefitted from being longer. Overall though, this is a very enjoyable album, and I can't complain about the quality of the actual music on offer, as it is excellent power metal. I just wish a bit more time and energy had been spent on the songwriting, because this album could have been amazing. It's not a bad album, it just feels unfinished.

And here we go again. Typical Sabaton album. I'm only surprised that there's no song about actual state of Ukraine and Russian Federation:O

Even though it would've been a more timely relevant subject matter than any of those introduced on the album, but being a bit unimaginative and intellectually shallow they would have seemed exploiting the crisis rather than pointing an opinion about the cause
i think the did well not going there

And here we go again. Typical Sabaton album. I'm only surprised that there's no song about actual state of Ukraine and Russian Federation:O

Even though it would've been a more timely relevant subject matter than any of those introduced on the album, but being a bit unimaginative and intellectually shallow they would have seemed exploiting the crisis rather than pointing an opinion about the cause
i think the did well not going there

They sing about history, not news or politics. They are timeless, not timely. "Intellectually shallow" is hardly fair, given that they seem to be some of the most well-educated musicians in the metal scene right now.

Sabaton lyrics aren't well written or particularly intellectually interesting. There's no poetry here. The lyrics aren't even particularly evocative - they're just plain and delivered in a dull manner.

Anyone can regurgitate historical facts. In fact most of the stuff they sing about is standard fare for anyone with an interest in WWII and warfare.

Their lyrics remind me of the inane history drivel my wargaming buddies and I discuss whilst pushing toy soldiers over table top battlefields.

Finally musically they're not really that evocative of war either. This is certainly no Bolt Thrower or Slayer's more war focused moments or even such well crafted war songs as Alice in Chain's classic Rooster or Metallica's For Whom The Bell Tolls or Megadeth's Holy Wars or Iron Maiden's Paschendale.

A short man from Texas
A man of the wild
Thrown into combat
Where bodies lie piled
Hides his emotions
His blood's running cold
Just like his victories,
His story unfolds

Reads like one of k7's poems. Not exactly the most profound stuff.

Lyrically, they can be repetitive. In fact, when I first heard "To Hell and Back," it sounded kind of silly because of how wholly unimpressive the lyrics are. It's a great song, so I can forgive some lack of poetry - though many of the lyrics do, in fact, come from a poem written by Audie Murphy. Writing about the same subject dozens of times in a second language will lead to repetition, yes, but they are a power metal band, after all. At least their buzz words are "tanks," "blitzkrieg," and "thunder of guns" rather than "epic steel power glory sword dragon." Quality of lyrics is, to some extent, as subjective as quality of music. Some of their lyrics do read more like history textbooks than poetry, but in other cases they are perfectly capable of writing meaningful lyrics and presenting them in a powerful, emotional manner. Perhaps Joakim Brodén is not quite the wordsmith that the aforementioned James Hetfield or Tom Araya are ("War Ensemble" contains some of my favorite lyrics), but I find that his delivery more than makes up for any blandness or cliché aspects. Overall, I like their lyrics, and I think they fit well with their style of music.

Musically, they do not sound like war, as Slayer or Hail Of Bullets might, but I don't think that is their goal. Their sound is dramatic. It is meant to be proud, heroic, exaggerated, and bombastic - battle hymns, ballads, laments, and anthems of national pride rather than onomatopoeic grinding. Both are great approaches to take, of course; Sabaton has simply chosen a different course of action. Something like "Coat of Arms" is pretty melodic and catchy for a war song, but I think that hook-y, grandiose power metal approach emphasizes the heroism of the Greek soldiers and stirs up some uplifting emotions.

That's largely a matter of opinion, however. My point in calling them well-educated was not that they have the greatest lyrics in the world or anything - I mean that they are knowledgeable and passionate about the subject of war history, and I appreciate that. Sure, everyone knows about D-Day and trench warfare and everything. Not everyone knows about people like Simo Häyhä, Karel Janoušek, Witold Urbanowicz, or Charles XII, and people like Rommel, Gustavus Adolphus, and Audie Murphy deserve to have their stories told again anyway. A concept album about the rise and fall of the Swedish Empire is something outside the grasp of many bands, I would wager. Sure, Sassoon and Kipling they are not, but Hemingway became one of the greatest war writers in the English language with little more than terse monosyllables and a smaller vocabulary than any Sabaton album. And as he said himself, big ideas do not require big words.

Ultimately, Sabaton's poetic and musical appeal are by and large a matter of personal taste. What is true, however, and what I was intending to say, is that they have a wide base of historical knowledge from which to draw inspiration, and I think that to accuse them of being intellectually shallow is unfair in light of this fact.

Nothing on this album seems grasp my interest, for some reason I remember the band used to be better At least "The Art of War" was memorable, though not very impressive album. This album, though, I don't see possessing either of those qualities.